Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst - Definition and Overview

Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst (22 May 1762 - 27 July 1834), the elder son of the second earl. In April 1789 he married Georgiana (d. 1841), daughter of Lord George Henry Lennox, and was member of the UK Parliament for Cirencester from 1783 until he succeeded to the earldom in August 1794. Owing mainly to his friendship with William Pitt, he was a lord of the admiralty from 1783 to 1789; a lord of the treasury from 1789 to 1791; and commissioner of the board of control from 1793 to 1802. Returning to office with Pitt in May 1804 he became Master of the Mint, and was President of the Board of Trade and Master of the Mint during the ministries of the Duke of Portland and Spencer Perceval, only vacating these posts in June 1812 to become Secretary of State for War and the Colonies under the earl of Liverpool. For two months during the year 1809 he was in charge of the foreign office. He was Secretary for War and the Colonies until Liverpool resigned in April 1827; and deserves some credit for improving the conduct of the Peninsular War, while it was his duty to defend the government concerning its treatment of Napoleon Bonaparte. Bathurst’s official position caused his name to be mentioned frequently during the agitation for the abolition of slavery, and with regard to this traffic he seems to have been animated by a humane spirit. He was Lord President of the Council in the government of the Duke of Wellington from 1828 to 1830, and favoured the removal of the disabilities of Roman Catholics, but was a sturdy opponent of the Reform Bill of 1832. The Earl, who had four sons and two daughters, died on 27 July 1834. Bathurst was made a Knight of the Garter in 1817, and held several lucrative sinecures.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.